Freddie Gray's death has been ruled a homicide, and 6 police officers have been charged

Baltimore's chief prosecutor, Marilyn J. Mosby, on Friday, May 1, 2015. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Baltimore's chief prosecutor, Marilyn J. Mosby, announced criminal charges on Friday against the six officers allegedly involved in the death of a 25-year-old man who suffered a partially severed spine while in police custody.

Mosby, the state's attorney for Baltimore, said that the death of Freddie Gray — who was arrested for supposedly carrying a switchblade and suffered his fatal spinal cord injury in a police van — was ruled a homicide.

Gray's death was the latest high-profile police-related fatality involving a black man, and it sparked protests across Baltimore that escalated Monday night into rioting and looting. By Wednesday, demonstrators had hit the streets of New York City to protest police brutality.

On April 12, police arrested Gray "without force or incident" for supposedly carrying a switchblade, according to charging documents written by officer Garrett Miller and cited by The Baltimore Sun.

But video footage taken during his arrest showed officers dragging Gray into a police van.

Mosby described how police arrested Gray on no grounds and allegedly violated police procedures by cuffing his hands and legs in a police van without putting him in a seat belt.

At least five times, she said, officers put him in the van or checked on him without securing him. The officers allegedly failed to give him medical attention, though he asked for it at least twice, according to Reuters.

By the time he was removed from the van, Mosby said, Gray was no longer breathing.

The crowd listening to Mosby's announcement started applauding, Reuters reported, with onlookers shouting "Justice!" and "Justice for Freddie!" and "Thank you, Ms. Mosby!"

"The people of America give me hope. People like this district attorney give me hope," youth leader Jay Morrison told Reuters.Demonstrators jump on a damaged Baltimore police department vehicle during clashes in Baltimore, April 27, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The police said they initially stopped Gray because he "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence," according to documents cited by The Sun. After his arrest, he underwent major surgery, lapsed into a coma, and died a week later — that sparking protests across Baltimore that escalated into riots.

"We know he was not buckled in the transportation wagon as he should have been. No excuses from me. Period," Baltimore City Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said a week ago, according to The Baltimore Sun. "We know our police employees failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times."